


Sovereign

by anakien



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: AU, Gen, Or Is he?, Plot Twists, Shinigami, Shinigami Yagami Light, Yagami Light is Kira, alternative ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:20:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25371535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anakien/pseuds/anakien
Summary: When Light wakes up in the Shinigami realm, his plan to rebuild a new world is foiled by a familiar face.
Relationships: Ryuk & Yagami Light
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Sovereign

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone. Here's another AU!
> 
> Some dialogue (and inspiration) in this comes from the alternative ending (especially the fandom wiki pages). The other half of my inspiration came from a Tik Tok that showed what Ryuk's original design looked like.
> 
> I don't own anything DN related. Please, R&R!

The first thing Light sees when he opens his eyes are orange rocks. When he sits up, an agonizing pain shoots through his shoulder, and he can't help but release an irritated hiss.

He takes a moment to look around, still rubbing his shoulder tenderly. There's nothing around him for miles but dust and stones, and the sky is an eerie shade of red.

_What happened? Where am I?_ he thinks to himself. _Why don't I remember how I got here?_

A familiar chuckle sounds behind him. Light turns to see Ryuk floating, looking at him with bright eyes. In a small corner of his mind, he's a little relieved to see someone he recognizes.

"Glad to see you finally woke up," Ryuk cackles. "It's been pretty boring just watching you sleep."

"What the hell happened? Where am I?"

"Where do you think, Light? Welcome to the Shinigami's world."

Light looks around again, thoroughly unimpressed. "Heh. 'Don't you ever dream of being able to go to heaven or hell after using the Death Note,' huh...?"

Ryuk shrugs.

Light rubs his temple. "Why can't I remember anything?"

Ryuk shrugs. He comes closer to Light and reaches out to press two fingers against his forehead.

Images flow so quickly across his vision he can scarcely keep up. He remembers: Near in the warehouse; Mikami, sacrificing himself so Light can get away; Matsuda's lucky shot to his shoulder.

The images disappear just as quickly as they arrived, and he is left panting. His head throbs, leaving an ache similar to the last time his memories were returned to him.

Ryuk laughs again. "Welcome to the land of the living. Or should I say dying. Or dead."

Light ignores his laughter. "Why am I here? What's going to happen to me?"

"Don't rush," Ryuk says. "It'll start in due time."

"Start? What will..."

"Kurou Otoharada," a booming voice echoes from over them. "Heart attack." Light looks up, but there's nobody there.

"Who-"

There's suddenly a sharp, immediate pain in his chest, and Light can't help but cry out. He tries to grab his chest, but there's a pulse, and he blacks out.

When he comes to, Ryuk is still watching with interest.

"What the hell?!"

The same booming voice calls out another name. "Shibuimara Takuo. Car Accident."

"This can't be," Light says. "Whoever I killed so far-"

The sound of a horn comes from Light's left, and he turns directly to stare into a set of blinding headlights. A truck comes out of nowhere and slams into him, sending him flying back several yards. He lands, crumpled, and blacks out again.

This time when he wakes, Ryuk is kneeling in front of him. Phantom pain courses throughout his body, but the wind is still so knocked out of him that he can't form words.

"You noticed?" Ryuk says. "That's right. As much as you killed others, you'll suffer the same pain. If you killed ten thousand people, you'll die ten thousand times. This is the atonement of whomever used the Death Note."

Light stares at him in horror, panic coursing through his veins.

"What?" Ryuk taunts. "Did you think you could become a Shinigami, too?"

"Naomi Misora," the bodiless voice calls out. "Suicide."

"What is this voice?" Light asks. His left hand twitches of its own accord and rises up to his throat, slowly applying pressure until he can no longer breathe.

"This is the Shinigami King," Ryuk says, simply watching Light choke himself. "Only that old fart's Death Note can kill the same human again and again."

Light tries to beg, his jaw working, but nothing comes out. He holds his other hand up to plead for Ryuk's help.

"Sorry, Light-o. No can do." Ryuk leans back on his heels. "It's no use. From body and soul, from people's memories, and all the records in the human world, you will still experience all the deaths of all the people he killed and will disappear from existence in the end."

Light's vision grows spotty, and he again embraces the familiarity of death.

When he wakes this time, it only takes a moment to formulate a plan. He can't help the laughter that bubbles over, even though it makes his throat ache.

Ryuk turns to look at him as if he's crazy, which, maybe he is.

"124,925. The number of people I've killed so far." He sits up and meets Ryuk's gaze. "Experience all the deaths and then disappear, huh? Meaning, as long as I'm experiencing those deaths, I will exist."

Ryuk's eyes widen.

"I still have a lot of time before I disappear," Light continues. "That will be more than enough time."

"Well, that's true." Ryuk studies him for a moment. "What're you thinking?"

He stands up and brushes the dust off of his clothes. "I'm going to look for the Shinigami King and make a deal with him."

Ryuk immediately starts cackling.

Light continues, undeterred. "Instead of warranting my own safety, I'll lend him my intelligence, with an amazing strategy to rebuild the Shinigami's rotten world."

Ryuk stops laughing, and instead cocks his head to the side in curiosity. "I don't know, Light. I don't think the old fart'll be interested in that."

Light scoffs. "Who do you think I am, Ryuk? I'll convince him. After all, I am just the man who became the god of the human world. If I need to, I can even kill the king." He waves his hand dismissively. "Human versus Shinigami. A battle for the summit. Ryuk, I'm not done yet, I'll amaze you even more."

Ryuk stands, wings twitching with excitement. "You're the best after all, Light."

Light can't help the small, satisfied smile creep across his face. "It's time to start the search. I will show you the genesis of my New World yet again!"

He pushes himself off the ground to stand next to Ryuk. Another name is called out by the Shinigami King, and he instantly crumples back down.

When he comes to, Ryuk is already heading in the opposite direction. Ignoring his irritation, Light stands and brushes the dust off of himself, content to follow.

* * *

Light doesn't know how long they've been walking for. Ryuk is silent for most of their journey, only once bemoaning the lack of apples he'll have now that he's back in his world. There's nothing to look at or do, which Light is actually fine with, because it gives him time to formulate his thoughts to the Shinigami King.

He could do without the heart attacks approximately every 40 seconds or so. Time between some are a little longer, and others are a little shorter.

There's no sense of the passing of time here. The sky never changes, always the same eerie red. He also never grows weary. Mentally, he keeps a running total of the number of times he's died - seventeen-thousand and two - which is just a drop in the bucket compared to how many people he killed on earth.

He's not worried. He has plenty of time. In human time, it's only been just longer than a week. If his calculations are correct (which, why wouldn't they be?), he has about fifty days left, give or take.

They don't see any other Shinigami. When Light asks about this, Ryuk just says they're either off playing poker, bugging the king, or watching the portals to the other worlds. Nobody really cares about a human who's died, even if they were Kira.

That's a slight blow to Light's ego.

"Don't worry, Light," Ryuk says. "I'm sure that if you try to battle the King, every Shinigami in the realm will come watch you lose." He cackles again.

"Thanks for that boost of confidence," Light says. "Luckily, I won't need it."

* * *

It's not too much longer after that (only another nine hundred and eight heart attacks) when Light can start hearing yelling in the distance. He turns his head, curious.

Ryuk makes a low noise. "Ah, we're getting close. Any last words?"

Light feels a strange thrill in his stomach. He hasn't felt quite this excited since he picked up the Death Note for the first time.

When the Shinigami King calls the next name, it's so blistering loud that Light feels it reverberate in his bones, and he falls to the ground clutching his head.

When he comes to, Ryuk is far ahead, heading towards the roaring. Light stands up and staggers after him. The closer he gets, the louder the yelling is, and what looks to be a stadium with crumbling walls grows in his line of sight.

He dies another sixty-six times before he gets close enough to touch the stadium. The whole structure seems to be vibrating with every name the King calls out. The cheering also gets louder after every name.

Light reaches out and touches the wall at eye-level. Dusty bits of rock fall to his feet. He curls his lip.

_I could rebuild this world_ , he thinks to himself. _I will rebuild it._

"Light," Ryuk calls, and Light looks up. To his left, Ryuk is waving him open to a gaping entrance.

He follows Ryuk through the tunnel. When he comes out the other side, it's ridiculously bright. He squints and raises a hand to cover his eyes.

Hundreds and hundreds of Shinigami sit in the crowd, jeering and calling out for him. Ryuk moves forward, unperturbed. If anything, he seems to like the attention, because he waves to a couple of them as he walks by.

"Look straight ahead," Ryuk says to him. "There's the King."

In a rocky throne sits a massive Shinigami. The King has a large, globe-like body, covered in chains. A skull with glowing eyes studies him, just as much as he is observing him. The skull cocks to the side, highlighting the larger, outer skull-like formation it rests in. Four arms hang from his body, each with only three claws on each hand.

Light keeps his face perfectly neutral, but he can feel his heart racing. The King is a lot more intimidating than Ryuk, or even what he remembers of Rem. He legs feel like lead, but he forces himself to take another step forward.

"Does this form frighten you, Light Yagami?" The King says, voice dripping with amusement. Light stills - why does that voice sound so familiar?

For one terrifying moment, his mind goes blank. Every intelligent comment he prepared himself to say, every detail of his plan to win the King on his side - all gone.

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Come Light, is this form better?" A young man with straight black hair now sits on the throne. He's shirtless, and Light can see every inch of his marred body, three-different skin tones unevenly stitched together.

He flushes, his anger growing. He doesn't appreciate being made a mockery of.

"No," he starts, but the King holds up a hand.

"Actually, I think my final form is the one you will find the most familiar." There's another flash, and Light stumbles back at the sight of L sprawled out on the throne.

"What is this?" Light demands. Ryuk cackles somewhere to his left.

L, no, The King, gives him a long, unpleasant smile. "We meet again again, Light-Kun. Or should I say, Kira?"

L snaps his fingers, and pain blossoms in his chest. The last thing Light remembers before fading to nothing is L smirking at him.

**Author's Note:**

> Really, I wrote this to have an AU where L actually is the King trying to get back the Death Note Ryuk tricked him out of.
> 
> Please R&R!


End file.
